We finally got to the cottage in Falmore at about 9:30pm, almost an hour and a half after leaving Mount Errigal and six hours after arriving in Belfast. My own mission elapsed time at that point was 24 hours of travel time and 33 hours since any real sleep.

There was time for a few quick pictures on arrival – back up the driveway to see the sheep who greeted us, down the driveway to look out to the sea, the mountains to the east, and then west toward the North Atlantic.

The downside of our crazy drive was a real lack of food in the house. We had the presence of mind to pick up bread and butter though, and Katie brought the Roy’s coffee and Sugar in the Raw.

That next morning we went for a walk to assess where we were. Surrounded by green pastures and navigating our little one lane road, we liked this place we were going to call home. The street signs were a little confusing though – in part because we hadn’t quite learned Gaelic yet.

The little thatched shed behind our house really captured our imaginations too. I’d never known how thatch rooves were made – so seeing the wire netting holding the thatch in place was interesting. Moving from structure to nature though, the wild flowers surrounding the cottage were beautiful.